KU fans leave early in latest rout

LAWRENCE — After it was over and Jayhawks were done playing, done singing and done swaying, a small group of players wanted to show their appreciation.

Guys like Keba Agostinho, Ben Heeney and Keon Stowers all walked toward the front row of the student section and thanked the few shirtless, chilled fans who stayed the entire game.

“I appreciate you staying,” Stowers remembered saying.

“To tell you the truth," he added, "if I was a fan, I probably would’ve been [filtered word] and left too.”

Almost all of the 32,264 fans that did come to Memorial Stadium left well before the game ended. This was a game Kansas was never supposed to win, but at no point did it ever appear that it would even compete in its 59-14 loss to Baylor.

There was no 13-0 lead and brief excitement like there was against Oklahoma one week before. No chatter in Lawrence about possibly heading to the stadium in case of an upset like there was after KU took a 10-0 lead over Texas Tech.

Saturday was simply a case of a better team handling the Jayhawks.

“They have a lot of firepower and it hurt early,” Charlie Weis said.

At halftime, Baylor had 38 points and 505 total yards. Comparatively, the Jayhawks had zero points and 91 yards. While the Bears flung the ball around the field with little trouble, the Jayhawks passing game looked like a repeat of last week’s 16-yard performance. At that point, KU had 38 passing yards.

The KU fans who came, particularly the students, left in droves. Tight end Jimmay Mundine said the team notices the fans leaving. It's impossible not to. But maybe, Mundine said, if the team wins, those fans will come back.

“You can see the stadium go from colors everywhere to gray,” Mundine said. “You just see bleachers.”

Those fans who left missed a second half in which the KU offense showed strides of improvement. Jake Heaps tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Rodriguez Coleman. Freshman quarterback Montell Cozart threw a 45-yard pass to Coleman as well. Brandon Bourbon scored on a 22-yard option play that wouldn’t have been possible without Cozart’s dual-threat ability.

Stowers wanted to let the offensive coaches and players talk about Cozart’s ability, but he did say he thought the young quarterback is very mature for a freshman. One of those players, Mundine, didn’t shy away from sharing his thoughts on Cozart.

“He can run better, he’s more athletic than Jake,” Mundine said. “He’s not nervous, the moment’s not too big for him. He has a very bright future.”

While the bleachers were near empty, Mundine said it’s not something that alters the team's energy in a big way. Stowers said it’s rare for the Jayhawks to get to play a top-10 team, and they embrace the opportunities. He said the energy wasn’t a problem.

But still, the Jayhawks lost in a big way. They were down early and never gave their fans much to cheer for. After a first down in the first quarter, KU fans erupted —almost sarcastically — after a first down.

After the game, an upset Mundine was asked if his all of his teammates care as much as he does. His response: “I’d like to think so.”

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Fans of crappy teams leave early. (Or don't spend $$ on a ticket in the first place). This is nothing new and isn't unique to KU.

I've never understood why it's considered some heroic event to stay for the whole game long after the outcome has been determined...especially when the product on the field has been so bad for so long. It was 'heroic' for those fans to spend their money to show up in the first place.

....this is four years of total frustration, by replacing a really bad coach with a bad coach.

Fair-weather fans are the ones that jump ship after one disappointing loss, like some MU fans are doing on the forums today. I'd trade Weis for Pinkle any day, even though Mizzou would be getting a MUCH better deal pound-for-pound. :-)

It's not the fan's job to recruit, but it is their right to show their frustration, and not showing up, or leaving early are the easiest ways to do that.

I hope the AD is FINALLY paying attention....if not for a basketball coach he didn't hire, he'd be pounding the pavement, looking for a job, too.

Seriously, KU administration, how much more "pile of crap" football do you expect your fans to support?

If the f-ball team produced the remote possibility of a "W" the stands would be packed. No fan in their right mind wants to witness total futility. There's no badge of honor supporting a loser at an expense. Watch the Octagon of Doom this season. Allen Fieldhouse exemplifies KU's response to a winner. The Orange Bowl season there was no question of fan support. Win and they will come.

Fans leave when teams aren't winning. Especially when the team is in the midst of a 3 year span that has been as horrible as the one KU is in.

KState has a great thing going in Manhattan with their football atmosphere...no one is arguing that. KState football fans are great...but, lets not pretend that they're any different than any other fan base. It's human nature...happens everywhere when teams are bad.

I've also seen what Bramlage looks like during most home basketball games where KU is not the opponent. It's OK.

I do love college sports, but I find very humorous that so many people get so upset at each other's schools. If your life revolves around a ku - Ksu conflict you are not a sports fan, you are looking for that long lost void you must have in your life.

What was KSU's attendance in the 1980s? Oh that's right, most of todays fans didn't even attend games in the 80s. Talk about fair-weather fans.
Attendence at KSU stadium in the 80s was said to be about 25,000. By the end of most of the games you could count how many were left.